I found these tiny bees sleeping at around 6PM, they are approx 1cm long and this not the first time I saw this species but unfortunately I still don't have their ID..... any help?
Jealous of that last frame Bruce -one for the portfolio
Not sure on the ID, but I've seen solitaries sleeping in groups like that as well. I think that they are a species of Miner bee -males camping out in the area where females are nesting. For a positive ID try sending Nico a Flickr mail (if you have a Flickr account). Nico is an entomologist in Greece who specializes in solitary bees -I'd like to know half of what he's forgotten about them...
Dear Buddy,
Thank you very much for your message and the lovely photos. They are solitary bees of the family Nomiini (possibly a Pseudapis sp.) in the family Halictidae. The easiest morphological character to ID them as such is the scale-like structure on the tegulae (= the wing basis on the thorax). Check out my photos of bees in my gallery, you will see that most of them look very different indeed.
